Amazingly Tasty Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Salmon Recipe

This easy Instant Pot lemon garlic salmon comes together so fast and just uses a few ingredients! You just drop everything in a baking dish, drop it in the Instant Pot and it’s ready to eat before you know it!

It’s seriously one of the most awesome recipes for a weeknight dinner, because it’s healthy while at the same time being REALLY FAST to make. It’s become our go-to recipe for when I don’t have much time to cook but want a healthy meal for my family.

I love our Instant Pot and use it pretty often because I can have almost ANY dinner from frozen to ready in under 30 minutes. This has become very handy on those days I forget to thaw meat!

Plus when you cook in the Instant Pot the flavors in your food are so much more intense – it makes everything taste so much better. My favorite part is that I can put the ingredients in the Instant Pot and walk away, so I don’t have to worry about my food burning while I do something else.

A few things you should know about this Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Salmon recipe

This recipe is very easy to make and takes about 5 minutes to prep. You can eat the salmon in so many different ways – with pasta, rice, a side of vegetables or turn it into tacos. We change things up and have eaten it many ways!

My kids love to eat it with pasta and I love it with veggies and mashed potatoes. One way we all love to eat it is tossed with some diced tomatoes and fresh greens in a tortilla. So, make it with any sides your family will prefer, but if you’re looking for a very easy meal, turn it into a salmon taco!

The salmon cooks really fast in the Instant Pot so make sure whatever sides you prepare are easy ones to makes. I usually prep the sides as the salmon cooks and in about 10 minutes I have an easy but healthy meal to feed my family.

Can you cook salmon in the Instant Pot?

Yes, you can! Just follow this recipe and add the sides of your choice.

Which type of salmon is best?

My rule thumb when it comes to salmon is to always get wild-caught. Farmed salmon has been found to have toxic chemicals and are being fed a specific diet to make them larger than normal. There have been also some reports about coloring being added to their diet to give the salmon a more pinkish flavor. So, the best way to avoid unnecessary chemicals in your salmon, is to buy it wild-caught.

Can salmon be cooked from frozen on the Instant Pot?

Yes! That’s one of the reasons why I love to use my Instant Pot, to cook meats from frozen. If you’re cooking from the salmon from frozen, add an additional 2 minutes of cook time to this recipe.

What is the best way to eat this salmon?

You can eat this salmon with your favorite sides, like:

veggies: eat it with your favorite veggies, some of our favorite ones to eat with salmon are asparagus, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, and bok choi. If you’re making with veggies, toss different veggies together or serve 2 different types of veggies.

rice or quinoa and veggies

mashed potatoes and veggies

pasta

turn them into salmon tacos – I have found this to be the fastest way to turn this into a filling meal. You can make your tacos as simple or as elaborate as you like, you will need basic ingredients like: tortillas, diced tomatoes and lettuce or cilantro. You can add additional ingredients, like diced onion, shredded cheese, salsa verde sauce and corn.

For more ideas, follow me on Instagram Stories – I regularly share how easy healthy recipes there and sides ideas.

How to make lemon garlic in the Instant Pot

Ingredients:

1 pound salmon fillets

½ lemon sliced

½ lemon juiced (optional)

6-8 garlic cloves, sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

dash of olive oil

Instructions:

Place 1 cup of water into the inner pot of the Instant Pot.

Slice salmon as desired and so that it fits in your Instant Pot. If you like to remove the skin, you can do so. If you do choose to leave it on, it doesn’t matter if you put the skin side down or up. You can cook the fish either way and it’ll be cooked perfectly in the pressure cooker ever time.

You can place the salmon directly in the Instant Pot, use a dish or a steamer rack. I prefer using a dish but if you don’t have one, don’t worry about it.

Place the salmon into a baking dish that will fit in your Instant Pot, if that’s what you’re using. Top the salmon with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon slices, and garlic cloves. If you want your salmon to have a more lemony flavor, squeeze lemon juice over it, using the other lemon half.

For extra flavor: add a bit of grass-fed butter on top of your salmon. Place a couple pieces of sliced butter on top of each piece of salmon. It will melt when it starts cooking and give your salmon an even better flavor.

Place the baking dish, using a trivet with handles, into the Instant pot.

Close the Instant Pot lid, seal and set to a high pressure for a cook time of 3 minutes, 5 minutes if you’re cooking from frozen. Natural release the pressure for 5 minutes followed by a quick release of the remaining pressure.

Salmon should be flaky and tender. If the salmon is not cooked completely, place baking dish back into the Instant Pot and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes on High Pressure, with a quick release. Although, I’ve never had to extend the cooking.

Your salmon is now ready to be served with your tacos or the sides of your choice.

Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Salmon

This easy Instant Pot lemon garlic salmon comes together so fast and it's so delicous. Add your favorite side or turn it into tacos for a yummy, easy meal.

Ingredients

1 pound salmon fillets

½ lemon sliced

½ lemon juice (optional)

6-8 garlic cloves, sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

dash of olive oil

Instructions

Place 1 cup pf water into the inner pot of the Instant Pot.

Slice salmon as desired and so that it fits in the Instant Pot.

You can place the salmon directly in the Instant Pot inner pot, use a dish or a steamer rack. Place the salmon into a baking dish, if that's what you're using.

Top the salmon with olive oil, salt and pepper, lemon slices, and garlic cloves. If you want your salmon to have a more lemony flavor, squeeze lemon juice over it, using the other lemon half.

For extra flavor: add a bit of grass-fed butter on top of your salmon. Place a couple pieces of sliced butter on top of each piece of salmon. It will melt when it starts cooking and give your salmon an even better flavor.

Place the baking dish, using a trivet with handles, into the Instant pot.

Close the Instant Pot lid, seal and set to a high pressure for a cook time of 3 minutes, 5 minutes if you’re cooking from frozen.

Natural release the pressure for 5 minutes followed by a quick release of the remaining pressure.

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